Blackwater became an extension of the CIA: report

The role of Blackwater employees in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was so central to the
US's efforts that the lines between the controversial security contractor, the CIA and the
military were effectively "blurred," says a report in the New York Times.

During the height of the Iraqi insurgency from 2004 to 2006, Blackwater guards
participated almost nightly in "snatch and grab" raids on suspected militants,
the Times
reported in a story published late Thursday.

The company's cooperation in top-secret CIA operations "illuminate[s] a far deeper
relationship between the spy agency and the private security company than government
officials have previously acknowledged," the Times reports.

"Blackwaters partnership with the CIA has been enormously profitable for the
North Carolina-based company, and became even closer after several top agency officials
joined Blackwater."

"It became a very brotherly relationship, an unnamed "former top CIA
officer" told the Times. "There was a feeling that Blackwater
eventually became an extension of the agency."

Several former Blackwater guards said that their involvement in the operations became
so routine that the lines supposedly dividing the Central Intelligence Agency, the
military and Blackwater became blurred. Instead of simply providing security for C.I.A.
officers, they say, Blackwater personnel at times became partners in missions to capture
or kill militants in Iraq and Afghanistan, a practice that raises questions about the use
of guns for hire on the battlefield.

Representative Rush D. Holt, a New Jersey Democrat who is chairman of the House Select
Intelligence Oversight Panel, said in an interview that the use of contractors in
intelligence and paramilitary operations is a scandal waiting to be examined. While
he declined to comment on specific operations, Mr. Holt said that the use of contractors
in such operations got way out of hand. Its been very troubling to a lot of
people.

Over the course of the past year, information has been slowly leaking out about
Blackwater's role in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the broader war on terrorism.
Allegations have emerged that the Bush administration hired Blackwater
to run elements of its "extraordinary rendition" program, which saw terrorism
suspects kidnapped and taken to countries where they could be tortured.

Following the revelation last summer of a secret "CIA hit squad" that
targeted high-value terrorists for assassination, allegations emerged that the government
had outsourced parts of that program to Blackwater, a move some critics have described as
"unconstitutional."

And an investigative report from The Nation reporter Jeremy Scahill revealed
last month that the Obama administration is using
Blackwater in a program to assassinate terrorist targets in Pakistan.

With a slew of bad news about his company emerging almost weekly in the press,
Blackwater founder and chairman Erik Prince revealed last week that he plans to retire from
the company. Prince said he wants to teach high school.